Judo's governing body is to investigate why Algeria's Messaoud Redouane Dris failed the weigh-in for his under-73kg bout with Israel's Tohar Butbul at the Paris Olympics, saying athletes can become "victims of broader political disputes."
The International Judo Federation said Dris arrived for the weight control session on Sunday 10 minutes before the deadline and was found to be 400 grams over the allowed limit to compete on Monday.
The head of Israel's Olympic Committee Yael Arad branded it a "disgrace" and called for the North African delegation to be punished. Algerian media and the delegation sponsor hailed Dris, while Butbul sent out a message of peace.
"Following the Olympic Games, a full review and investigation of the situation will be conducted and further action will be taken if needed," the IJF said in the statement on Monday.
"We believe that sport should remain a realm of integrity and fairness, free from the influences of international conflicts. Unfortunately, athletes often become victims of broader political disputes which are against the values of sport," it said.
"I respect him," Butbul said of Dris.
"He's a very good judoka. He's a very good athlete. I wish maybe sometime we would have peace in the Middle East so I could go to training in Algeria, and he can go to training in Israel, and we can go to the tatami together and do the fight. Maybe sometime I can shake his hand.
"I think the Algerian athletes and all the Muslim athletes cannot go to the fight with Israeli athletes," Butbul said.
"I think they are the victims in this thing. They won't let them compete, even though they are athletes. I really wanted to do the fight with him, and it's not happened. Maybe next Olympics we will meet again, and we can do it."
Security Concerns
The Paris 2024 Summer Games are taking place amid pronounced security concerns and heightened geopolitical tensions, including over Israel's war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 attacks led by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The Algerian Olympic delegation declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
However, Algerian newspaper al Nahar hailed the judoka for "smartly avoiding meeting Israeli opponent by failing to make the weight."
Algerian athletes' sponsor telecom giants Mobilis said on Facebook: “Dris won everyone's respect. Honor and the (Palestinian) cause come first before anything else."
Arad, a former judoka and the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal, told Reuters: "I think this is a disgrace. I think that you can play with the weigh-in, the category, (say) I wasn't prepared, but everybody knows this is a political issue. My heart goes out to this athlete."
There had been expectation in the run-up that Dris would pull out given that Algiers does not recognize Israel.
In 2021, another Algerian, Fethi Nourine withdrew, from the Tokyo Olympics to avoid a potential fight against Butbul in the second round. He was then handed a 10-year ban by the IJF.
Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool then did not show up to face Butbul in the Tokyo round of 32 bout despite weighing in earlier.
"He (Dris) is a victim of the system. I think these guys, the coach, the delegation, have to be punished," Arad, a 1992 Barcelona Games silver medallist, said.
Amid cheers and some boos, Israel's Butbul on Monday came on to the tatami at the Champs de Mars Arena dojo bowing, as is the custom, to where his opponent should have been before leaving to prepare for his second round match later in the morning.